A New Life
by HeavyMetalBender
Summary: Lin tried to dismiss the idea of having a child – it was a dream she gave up decades ago when she learned that she was infertile after years of trying with Tenzin. But somewhere deep within hadn't given up on the notion. And that hopeful glimmer of normalcy softened the Chief's features. Maybe she could have a family, after all. AU, Lin raises Kuvira as her own.
1. Chapter 1: New Beginnings

Quick beginning to an AU fic. R&R!

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><p>The officer hesitantly knocked on her door again.<p>

"Come in."

"Chief, she says it's urgent." She glared. _This is the third time he had interrupted her work in an hour for this caller. _"I could uh, tell her you're still out, ma'am?"

Lin pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to not take her frustrations out on the officer. She breathed deeply, before replying, "No, put her through."

The chief collected herself for the impending call. Lin waited until finally she heard her phone begin to ring. She looked at it, still debating whether she should let it go to voicemail before hesitantly deciding to pick up on the second to last ring. She barely got the receiver up to her ear before the familiar voice of her sister chimed over the line.

"Lin, I'll be in Republic City in two hours, should I meet you in the office or at home?"

The metalbender let out a deep breath, which she didn't realize she had been holding. "To what do I owe this pleasure…?"

"I have a favor to ask, is all! More like a proposition!" _Great, Su has another one of her plans._

"…You know I am very busy, right?" She looked at the piles of paperwork surrounding her: incident reports, meeting agendas and other documents that needed her careful approval.

"Yes."

She huffed, Su had no idea really. She took another breath and shook her head to try and neutralize her frustration. "Make it quick."

"Oh no, this won't be over the phone. So, where can I meet you? Oh and I brought a guest with me, I hope you don't mind!"

"No, no, it's fine. Just stop by the office, you can drag me to get dinner and we can talk."

"Okay, see you soon!" The line went dead with a defiant _click, _leaving the Chief to wonder what her sister was plotting.

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><p>She looked over at her clock. Su had been waiting in the front office for five minutes, and Lin knew Su would grow impatient and burst through her office doors at any moment. There was no use in trying to clean up her desk, but she elected to at least have the courtesy to not let her sister and her guest wait much longer.<p>

Lin felt her sister's footsteps towards her door. She heard an officer start to plead with the guest.

"Ma'am. Ma'am!"

_3…_

"You can't go in there, Chief Bei-"

_2…_

"-fong will throw you in a holding cell!"

_1… _

The heavy wood door flew open as Lin stood. "Lin, I have waited long enough. Come on."

The officer blushed hearing the woman address the Chief with such informality, and stood awkwardly at the door. "Chief, I'm so sorry- I…"

Lin waved off the officer, "It's fine."

A small girl, maybe eight or nine, stood behind Su. Her hair was braided and she held onto the older woman's coat, tentatively trying to peak out to look at the person they had traveled so far to visit.

Her eyes softened before kneeling down to talk to the little girl. She smiled and touched her shoulder, "Honey, I told you to wait in the front with the nice secretary. My sister and I have to talk for a few minutes and then we'll be out to get you." The girl looked away, discouraged by the light scolding. Lin gave the girl a questioning glare and walked towards the pair.

"Okay." The girl looked down, before slowly making her way out of the office; the officer escorted the young girl away from the door. Lin shut the door behind them, before turning to Su.

"Su, what is the meaning of this? Who is that? Why're you here?" The questions kept multiplying in her mind.

"Lin, sit down." Su motioned towards the pair of chairs, trying to get her sister to calm down. Lin had a tendency to ask questions before listening to an explanation. The older sibling planted herself behind her desk, crossing her arms and sitting back to cross her legs, deciding to entertain her sister.

"Okay. I'm sitting, now can you tell me what the meaning of all this is?" Su also sat, folding her hands in her lap.

"I need you to take that girl as your charge."

Lin interrupted her immediately, "No. I don't have time for a child and-"

It was Su's turn to shut her sister down, she stood and slammed her hand on the desk, "Stop. Just listen for a damn second. Spirits, you're so infuriating."

_I could say the same for you_, Lin thought. She raised her hand in mock defeat, electing to hear her sister out, if only to know what to say to systematically dismantle her younger sister's crazy notion that she could take on a child. She sat back again. "Go on…"

Su sat down again before continuing, "I have five children, Lin. I can't take on another. The twins just turned three and they're already starting to bend metal. Opal still can't bend, Bataar and Huan keep fighting, and I need help…"

"Why can't you just send her to an orphanage? Or a foster home, or somewhere else?"

"Lin, we both know how terrible those places are, the girl has been through enough."

"And you think _I'm _a solution? Why can't you ask Tenzin, or Katara or-"

"I wouldn't dare trust them with this as much as I trust you. Look, I know we've had our disagreements but please, hear me out. We both know you can provide structure. Just, give it a few weeks. Please. I'll take her back if it's too much, but she's a very talented bender, super independent. She needs someone like you. And you," Su motioned towards the piles of work on the desk, "need to get out more and have a damn life."

"I have a life!" Lin defended.

"After you and Tenzin broke up, you _don't _have a life. You just work all the time and it's _depressing._ You need someone to keep you on your toes, and this girl needs someone to look out for her to keep her out of trouble." She pointed back to the door. "Otherwise, you'll be arresting her in a few years and she'll be sitting in this precinct for far different reasons."

She contemplated the plea. The Chief could tell the woman was trying but simply couldn't take on another mouth to feed and care for. Suyin didn't often put her faith in strangers, so there must have been _something _special about the girl to pique her interests.

Lin tried to dismiss the idea of having a child – it was a dream she gave up decades ago when she learned that she was infertile after years of trying with Tenzin. But somewhere deep within hadn't given up on the notion. And that hopeful glimmer of normalcy softened the Chief's features. Maybe she could have a family, after all.

Suyin could tell that Lin was considering it, and left to fetch the young bender. She knew if Lin took a look at the girl's face, she might finally break her resolve. The two arrived at the entrance, and Su nudged the girl forward, keeping her hands on her shoulders.

"Lin, this is Kuvira. 'Vira, this is my sister, she's going to take care of you for a while." The girl gave a small smile and looked up at the accomplished Chief with hope in her eyes.

Lin knew she couldn't get out of this now.


	2. Chapter 2: Thunderstorms

AN1: I'm really glad that the last chapter seemed to be well received! Hopefully this lives up to the wait, I was excited to finish it and I'll go through and edit it again in the morning! As always, R&R, CC is welcomed. :) – HMB

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><p>The rain created a steady beat against the windows, which acted like a dull drum to drown out the other noises of the city below. It was welcome in Republic City: it had been a very dry summer so far and the few plants and green areas in the metropolis needed it. Usually concentrating on the sound calmed Lin, but today had left her anything but calm.<p>

The chief sat down at her kitchen table, putting her face into her hands while trying to dissect and understand the events that had led her to that moment. The day had had so many twists and turns, it left a rather unsettled heaviness in her stomach. One thing was for certain though: she now had an eight year old child that needed to be cared for.

Su soon joined her, quietly enjoying her company. She began to look over the woman who'd she had grown up admiring and wanting to be closer to. She never had the proper way to express that desire to her older sibling and often would end up fighting before it could be voiced. Lin looked tired, and didn't even acknowledge her presence as she sat, even though she knew she felt her approaching. Her sister had bended off her armor earlier, and now sat in her baggy uniform pants and a wrinkled wife-beater, which held the stains of metal rubbing constantly against it leaving long greyish marks. Her shoulders were slumped – a tell-tale sign that Lin was deep in thought over something: if Su had to venture a guess, it was probably the bombshell she dropped on her just a few hours prior.

She knew Lin would take a long time to adjust, especially since so much had changed over the course of the evening that her uncharacteristically unprepared sister needed to adjust.

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><p>Dinner had been dreadfully awkward.<p>

The trio sat at Yi's noodle bar for over an hour, with Su trying to get both parties to converse with one another. It wasn't that they didn't want to talk, it was more that Lin was very direct in her answers, and Kuvira was too shy to really answer questions in a more elaborate fashion.

Su looked over at Lin, annoyed at her most recent clipped answer to the child.

"So, Kuvira here is a metal bender! She even bent a metal cuff and tried to stop Huan from pulling her hair! Isn't that amazing?"

The elder metalbending master perked up, giving the child her signature crooked grin. Finally, a subject she could talk about. "When did you start bending, kid?"

The up until that time timid Kuvira swallowed her noodles and smiled brightly, "I started earthbending when I was four! It was so cool! And then I started bending metal when I was seven! Toph didn't even invent metalbending until she was twelve!"

Lin looked up to Su and mouthed "That's early," before continuing with now excited Kuvira, "Did you deck Huan good?"

Su smacked Lin's hand, trying to reprimand her sister even though she was smiling. Kuvira pumped her fist in victory, nearly knocking over her noodles in the process, "Yeah! He ran back to his sculptures and hasn't bothered me since!"

Lin continued to grin. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

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><p>As the three entered the apartment, it became <em>painfully<em> obvious how little time Lin spent at the place. Not a single book on the shelf or article of clothing was astray, and the cabinets contained more dust than food within them.

The Chief had no particular emotional attachment to the "home," as it was called. The whole concept boggled Lin. It was a place to sleep occasionally and store a few things she held dear, but it never was a place she liked to spend any extended amount of time. It reminded her how _lonely_ she was, having just herself and no one else in this so-called sanctuary. At least at work, the bustling bodies and constant flow of people made her feel a part of something.

"Lin, when was the last time you slept here?" Su continued to survey the surroundings, taking in the pristine, although dusty, apartment.

"Uh… Maybe Tuesday?"

"Today is Tuesday…" Su shook her head, thinking how the information had not been all too surprising: Lin rarely left work, and even when she did leave, she never truly left it behind. "You need to get out more."

The trio settled into the living room, Lin excusing herself to bend off her armor. After a few minutes, Lin appeared again to usher Kuvira to the spare bedroom, "You can sleep here." She observed the space that was reserved for guests, it was a simple bedroom: a bed, a dresser and a small closet. Suddenly feeling very embarrassed at the unwelcome state of the room, she felt the need to apologize to Kuvira, "I know it's not much kid…" Su glared at Lin for using the word _kid_ again, but thankfully Kuvira didn't catch it, nor seemed to mind it.

"Okay." The child bowed deeply at the waist, "Thank you Chief Beifong," before retreating to the room she had been shown.

The pair was finally left alone when Suyin spoke up, "_That_," she pointed at Lin, "has got to stop."

"What?"

"She called you Chief Beifong again, and you haven't stopped it yet!"

"Mom called me Chief…"

"Let her call you something else Lin, please. For both of our sakes." Su pinched the bridge of her nose, indicating her frustration.

The two sat in silence, occasionally exchanging a glare, until a tired looking child, dressed only in striped pajamas emerged from the bedroom, carrying only a plush badgermole.

Su looked the girl once over and stood, lightly hugging the little one and patting her back slightly. "Vira, honey, it's late, you should sleep."

"I want to but I can't." She rubbed her eyes for emphasis.

Su glanced over her shoulder, pleading with her eyes to her sister to intervene or at least help relax the child into her new surroundings. Lin sighed, and watched as Su started to walk the child to the room again. She patted the girls shoulder as they pushed open the guest door. _This is going to be harder than I thought._

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><p>"She's all set up in the other bedroom. Finally got her to sleep with this storm. She's afraid of them." Su explained more about the girl while she slept.<p>

"That's good to know. Do you have any… other information about her? How did she end up with you?"

"You're doing that thing again, Lin." Her eyes conveyed her amusement, as well as a little annoyance.

"What, is this _another_ _thing_?" She suddenly became very defensive, Su had been jabbing at her mannerisms all night.

"You're treating this like another case."

"Does _everything_ I do bother you? And how else should I treat it?" She raised her arms in defeat.

"You're insufferable. And you treat it like a mother, Lin."

"I wouldn't know what '_like a mother'_ means."

"You damn well know what it means- think of everything you didn't like about mom and try to fix it. Make her life better than yours."

The words struck the usually stoic officer. _Like a mother. How would she know? Mom always favored her. She never had to deal with all the fighting- every single thing I did wasn't good enough. Or right. _

Su noticed she was getting lost in her thoughts. Lin had a habit of doing this, even when they were kids. She'd start to spiral in her own mind, blaming herself for any and everything: any oversight, accident or situation that could have possibly gone better. Even though the Chief had a tough exterior, she secretly had a very sensitive side – often electing to repress the feelings in favor of appearing stable – even if she was the furthest from _okay. _She hadn't been _okay _in years.

"The girl's been through hell... Her parents were very poor. Used to try and sell her to have food to eat, then when she couldn't bring in enough money they'd beat her." Lin thought silently to herself, _is that how she got all those cuts on her arms?_ Su continued, "Finally they grew tired of the burden and thankfully set her loose. They just left without telling her."

The sideways glance would have silenced most people: it was a move Suyin had perfected, but it did nothing to deter Lin's inquiries. "How'd you get her?"

"Guards picked her up trying to steal from the cabbage guy."

"Oh."

The two sat in silence for a few minutes, Lin processing all the new surfacing questions, but one stood out prominently in her mind, "Do you think she'll be okay?"

"I don't know. But that's why I wanted her to live here with you."

A new puzzled look crept onto the Chief's face, "Why's that…?"

The matriarch waved her hand, as if stating the obvious, "I think you'll realize you need each other in the future."

Lin finally smiled before responding, "You know, I'll never understand your mystic crap."

Su giggled. "I know. But just trust me on this, please?"

"Alright… Uh… Where do you want to sleep since Kuvira took the spare bedroom?"

"The couch is more than enough, thank you though." And the Chief left to perform her own night time ritual.

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><p>Sleep is something the Chief never really got enough of in any sense of the definition, even when she had the rare chance to attempt to get a full night's sleep. There was always so much <em>noise<em>, not that people could help their midnight urges or their deafening snoring that shook the walls and the occupants within.

This night was no different, especially with two other souls supposedly sleeping in her usually quiet space. The Chief felt a slight disturbance in the apartment, and rested her bare foot onto the floor to survey her surroundings: a steady and long heartbeat that had to belong to her sister continued to draw long and even breaths, and a quickening heartbeat belonging to the tiny footsteps approaching her door. Lin was groggy and knew there was no danger. She chose to stay still, observing what Kuvira would do next.

The Chief's wooden door creaked open, but the child didn't dare enter the room. She continued to watch the Chief sleep until a loud _BOOM_ from outside shook the furniture and illuminated all that the windows would allow. The girl scurried across the short distance to the bed, but still didn't have the guts to disturb the older woman by crawling in.

She felt Kuvira staring at her at the edge of the bed, and finally groggily asked, "Are you going to stand there staring at me all night kid, or are you going to get in here?" Lin patted the bed for emphasis.

Encouraged by the motion, the girl quickly huddled into the cold covers. Lin rolled her eyes and turned to her side, now facing the girl, in an attempt to get comfortable again. Kuvira twitched, and finally settled into bed with her guardian and her badgermole, Xin. The sleep-deprived chief breathed out slowly, the heaviness in her chest feeling a little lighter. She didn't have time to think about it though before drifting back to sleep.

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><p>Su awoke at another particularly loud bang that echoed outside. She couldn't fall back asleep, so she decided to check on Kuvira, who was no doubt not faring well with the storm. Slowly pushing open the guest bedroom door, she looked in to see no one in the bed. The matriarch started to panic, fearing Kuvira had run away or worse. Su rushed to her sister's room to report that the child was missing, but what greeted her instead was a sight she could never forget. In the tangle of sheets laid two people: her sister, unsurprisingly, and the missing child, clenching her stuffed badgermole. The adrenaline was replaced with pure happiness at seeing the Lin having her arm draped around the child, unconsciously snuggled up to the girl she'd been so uneasy about having around. Kuvira seemed to be sound asleep, judging by how her mouth hung open.<p>

_That's a start, Chief, that's a start..._

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><p>AN2: Daww, I had this little idea planned for a while, but the last part doesn't mean everything will be sunshine and rainbows! It's a start though, as Su says. Again, R&amp;R, let me know what y'all think. Cheers. -HMB<p> 


	3. Chapter 3: Scars and Bandages Part 1

As always R&R is encouraged! :)

Couple of Notes:

- This is a small chapter, sorry! :o Probably will edit or throw it away in the morning, not sure yet.

- The nickname 'Vira is more of a Suyin thing. Also my friend Vira would kill me if I said her full real name (which is what I'm basing that part on, she really hates her full name.) It's also part of an arc in the story, stay tuned.

- I'm working on my thesis right now for college, so I try to write when I can, but it's also challenging to work it into my schedule for my 100 page research thesis due in April. I write fanfic more as a stress relief from the trial and tribulations of being a full time engineering student.

- This chapter is intended for a slightly older than K audience, you can skip the chapter if mentions of abuse / scars / wounds are a trigger or a bother. It's not gory or anything, but it's mentioned and kind of a central theme to this and the next chapter (which because of length I decided to split into two parts). Fair warning. Kuvira has some demons she needs to work out, and who better to do that with than LIN! (sorrynotsorry)

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><p>Kuvira sat swinging her legs. The chair was just a tad bit too high to reach the floor, and the chair served as a way to let out some of her nervous energy. Su had left late Wednesday to return to Zaofu, leaving the two alone. Lin had been taking her to work until she could enroll the young bender in school, so she had a lot of time to fidget and think while waiting for her mentor to finish her paperwork and take the two home. She'd all but exhausted her artistic prowess the past two days, but luckily it was Friday and she could look forward to the weekend, which the Chief had finally agreed to take off begrudgingly at the harsh directive of her sister.<p>

How Lin could work here on a daily basis, she had no idea. It was just so _loud. _All the time. Between the chairs moving to the yelling criminals proclaiming their innocence, the precinct never stopped moving.

"If you don't stop staring kid I swear to the spirits I'm going to make you as blind as my mother!"

She was across from the older bender, lost in her own thoughts. The child still didn't look away after the empty threat and Lin tried to block her out to continue with her work.

Seeing the scars that the Chief wore on her face somehow was comforting to Kuvira. Having seen her now a few times in her standard white tank top and cropped sweatpants without all the armor, she knew that the Chief had way more scars scattered along her body, but she never seemed to let the marks on her face bother her. In fact, they made her look tougher to many and she wouldn't be surprised if the Chief wore them with pride. How the Chief received the scars, the child had yet to work up the courage to ask, so she sat wondering, dreaming up scenarios where the earthbender saved the city from a deadly criminal who only managed to lay a scratch on her face. Maybe one day she could do that, not have to hide under her bandages.

When she thought about it, Lin had already seen hers and hadn't asked either. Maybe Su had told her, but she doubted it.

It had only been a few weeks since her parents disappeared, and yet it felt lifetimes away. She was in a much better place now, finally able to know where her next meal was coming and possessing the knowledge that the Chief probably wouldn't hurt her. Hopefully, she could never be sure anymore. Her parents were supposed to do so much but had failed in just about every way possible. The only redeeming quality to them was they hadn't outright killed her while still under their control.

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><p>Flashback<p>

_The matriarch ignored the fact that Kuvira was covered in dirt while she sat the girl on her kitchen table. What was more important now was rummaging through the cabinets for a first aid kit._ _The drawer's contents banged and clicked as Su tried to shift things around, looking for more to help the girl. Satisfied with finally finding some dressings and disinfectant, she turned to finding food for the young girl. Her ribs protruded through her shirt and her face was scarily thin, showing the definition in cheek bones. That was the real reason this whole situation was troubling her. She didn't care too much that the girl had been caught stealing, or even that she'd been lying about her parents being dead: it was a part of the art of survival on the streets. _

_The most disturbing issue was Kuvira's injuries and the clear signs of neglect that the young child exhibited. They weren't typical for your run of the mill street-rat. The few exposed cuts were more precise and consistent instead of the jagged and random scrapes that usually came with fighting, indicating that their creator had more sinister thoughts in mind. It was the reason she didn't send the girl straight to an orphanage or juvenile prison for her 'crimes': this girl had already been through hell, and she didn't need more to deal with. _

_The matriarch found some bread in one of the cabinets and offered it to the girl, who took it quickly while muttering a quick 'thanks' before starting to pull off small pieces to feed herself. The older woman didn't need to know that the last time Kuvira ate anything at all was two days prior. _

_The room fell silent once again, with Su inevitably thinking of what now to do with the girl. She didn't think to ask before absentmindedly starting to peel back the makeshift bandages on the young girl's shoulder as she ate. Her face could not hide her anger and sadness seeing the damage. _There's no way in hell she did this to herself. _Kuvira flinched at the sudden contact, feeling her own heartbeat start to pound in her ears, although the adrenaline seemed to temporarily numb the area Su had disturbed. "You don't like to be touched, do you?"_

_The younger earthbender swallowed, and shook her head 'no'. The older woman softened and tried to hide her worry as she stood back studying the child before continuing to treat the wounds, "What are all these cuts from?"_

_Kuvira refused to make eye contact, thinking of every time her father decided this was the best method to deal with her 'afflictions.' Suyin began unpacking the dressings and waited for an answer, while Kuvira drifted off into her own world, chewing her bread far more than necessary to avoid speaking. Her eyes became glassy when muttered, "Punishment." _

_"__Is that why you ran away?"_ _A dab of alcohol caused her to wince and recoil at the pain searing through her nerves._

_"__My parents are dead." Kuvira continued in her head, _or at least, I wish they were.

_The matriarch shook her head, still worried, but smiling. "I can tell when you're lying to me."_

_"__How?" The young earthbender was genuinely confused, usually people couldn't tell. She always remained cool and collected when telling people her parents were dead, it was better than the alternative. They had abandoned her. It wasn't that they could no longer care for her, it was that their lives were better off without her as their human punching bag. So much better off, that they just decided to disappear. _

_Su narrowed her eyes and leaned in to whisper to the child as if she was telling her a secret, "Your heartbeat changes when you lie." _

_Feeling very self-conscious, Kuvira let out a quiet, "oh."_

_The two remained silent for a while, until Su started again. "So, your parents…" She continued to wipe away the dried blood on the child._

_"__They… they hurt me a lot. So did a lot of other people. Finally, they told me I was dead to them... So I ran away. I came back a few hours later, and they were gone."_

_"__I'm sorry." Su reached to pull the girl into a hug, which Kuvira didn't mind and returned cautiously. The woman continued to look over the different scars and clean open wounds on her body. She noticed Kuvira getting uncomfortable with her looking at all the damage._

_Su tried to disarm the girl with a smile as she continued to bandage the wounds. "You can wear these for as long as you want, if you keep the wounds clean. That way no one will see them. It'll be our little secret." _

_/Flashback_

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><p>But Lin had already seen them after walking in on the young bender who had just started to undress her still healing wounds in the bathroom.<p>

The two arrived back at the apartment only a short while earlier, both sweaty and dirty from training. The Chief had started taking her through the basic forms of earthbending, since it seemed she had never been formally taught, but quickly the two started working on metalbending after realizing that earthbending was not enough of a challenge for the young one. They called it quits a few hours later, and the two parted when arriving home to clean up.

Although the older woman had grown used to the extra heartbeat and sounds that came from the child, she was still not entirely used to sharing her apartment. Frequently, the elder bender forgot to knock on the door leading to the bathroom. Lin pressed down on the handle to enter the small room without thinking, and the child stood there for the first time without her bandages. As she registered the sight in front of her, the Chief turned her head with one eyebrow cocked, silently asking _'what are those'_. A wave of chills overcame Kuvira, but fortunately for her, the Chief turned to leave before receiving an answer.

The young metalbender tried to decide why the Chief hadn't pressed her for more information. Maybe she didn't care or she'd forgotten.

Kuvira hadn't learned yet that the Chief never forgets.

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><p>To Be Continued... HMB<p>

R&R please! :)


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